Other Family Institutions

Families in business might find it useful to develop other types of institutions that cover areas of particular interest to them. Some of these institutions are:[1]

- Education Committee: This committee is responsible for nurturing the family’s human capital and its capacity to effectively collaborate in the tasks of governance. The education committee anticipates developmental needs of family members and organizes educational events and activities for them. For example, this committee could organize an accounting seminar for family members to help them read and understand the financial statements of their company.

- Shares Redemption Committee: This committee is overseen by the family council, and manages an established fund for shareholders who wish to cash in their stock at a fair price in order to pursue other activities with this money. The fund is usually built by contributing a percentage of the company’s profits to it each year.

- Career Planning Committee: Serves to establish and oversee entry policies for family members interested in joining the family business. This committee also helps monitor the careers of family members, offers career mentoring and keeps shareholders and the family council informed on their development. The career planning committee can also be very useful in advising family members who choose not to work in the family business on their external careers.

- Family Reunion and Recreational Committee: The purpose of this committee is to plan fun and other events in order to get family members together around recreational activities. The committee also organizes yearly family reunions designed to nurture relationships among family relatives by providing opportunities to get together and enjoy each other’s company.

[1] Ivan Lansberg, Succeeding Generations: Realizing the Dream of Families in Business (Harvard Business School Press, 1999); Fred Neubauer and Alden G.Lank, The Family Business: its Governance for Sustainability (Routledge New York, 1998).

[2] Adapted and summarized from the 2002 version of the Family Protocol of The Carvajal Group.